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tasting notes from the north

Mature Barolo – funky, cool and awesome!

Barolo is cool, awesome and funky. But mature Barolo is even cooler, more awesome and funkier!!! Probably because you so seldom get to drink the stuff!

Okey – I admit! I am a bit of a Barolo/Nebbiolo fan but my cellar is not big (have a sneak peak here!) and the range of mature Barolos at the swedish wine an spirit monopoly Systembolaget is not great (and to be honest a bit too expensive for me).

So when I got the chance to pitch my Giovanni Voerzio 2000 against a Prunotto Barolo 2000 (courtesy of my sister-in-law’s husband Michael Helldén) I didn’t hesitate. The planned La Spinetta Barbera tasting had to wait for another day (all things good to those who wait!).

Young Barolo used to be a palatekiller. If you ever tasted a young Barolo from the good old days when extreme skin contact and no destemming was the rule – you know what I mean. The tannins were so hard and firm that it felt like your teeth would fall off/out when you tasted it. It took decades for the wines to mellow (if they ever did) and nebbiolo was just for nebbiolo afficionados and no one else!

Today most Barolos are still massive but more modern in style. The wines are fruitier, more balanced and got more ripe tannins. Some producers use new oak – and on the whole the wines are better and more clean and consumer friendly than they ever been. That probably also means that they no longer hold as long in the cellar as they used to!?

Prunotto Barolo 2000Deeper brick/orange and brown. Developed nose with mint, herbs, farmyard notes and nuts. Almost portlike and a hint of steak. Mediumbodied concentrated taste with notes of tobacco, herbs/spices, chocolate and oak. More pronounced tannins but the taste is silky and mature in texture. Long impressive finish. Mature but could probably take another 2-5 years in the cellar.